Location: The Shore

And now for a plot-centric location! This is one that won't appear for some time in the Fomor campaign, but I want it to be well-defined and fleshed-out area for when they arrive. For now it's a very short post just to get the idea out there, but this one will definitely be revisited in the future. Picture is by René Aigner.


Description: 
The waves slowly lap at the sand. The air is salty, and smells of ozone. You can see a large figure moving beneath the water, but it seems more amorphous than well-defined. No signs of life can be seen for miles.

Info:
This is the place that Garath saw his water dragon during his dream-state. It is located on the western edge of the continent of Fomor. This is the resting place of one of the last dragons - a massive Bronze dragon that slumbers beneath the waves. It can instill great power into any of its blood line, which consists of Garath and several hundred others whose potential was not as great. Its presence has driven off every other living creature, whether or not they are even aware of its existence.
The dragon is highly intelligent and nearly omnipotent. It is so ancient and entwined with Fomor's own existence that it can view the entire continent simultaneously. As such, it knows of the party's journeys but will not intervene in any way. Its purpose in life was satisfied millenia ago when it helped to purge the Formians. Now it only persists to bestow knowledge into another that it deems worthy. Which is Garath.
As far as an adventure goes, I haven't quite decided yet. In a sense, this would be a plot-heavy RP-centric session focused on Garath. But the dragon could also have some task for the party to complete before it fully makes its judgement. The journey to the dragon, however, would be fraught with danger. The party would have to move through ancient Formian hive-cities, and vast stretches of desert. 

Minor Location: The Ruined Temple

So I'm really bad at updating all of a sudden. Yesterday was Labor Day and that was my excuse. Anywho, this image is by Trung Nguyen.


Description:
Mist weaves through the mountaintops. The structures are collapsing, and their colors have been washed away by the winds. Vines creep all around where civilization used to stand.

Info:
The Ruined Temple was home to an order of monks several decades ago. however, they have since been completely driven off. The monastery remains, though it is now decrepit and falling into disrepair. The powers of nature are now taking over the formerly orderly place.
The monks that lived here dedicated their lives to order. Their discipline and mental powers shaped the reality around this area, making it unnaturally orderly. For the most part this has no apparent effect, but especially chaotic creatures experience pain and discomfort. Especially chaotic creatures, such as demons, find that they are unable to exist in this area. However, with their new absence, the neutrality of the Material Plane is reclaiming it as its own.
Several supernatural creatures have come to call this place home. Spirits of monks seek to keep the Ruined Temple as orderly as possible in a magical sense. They are opposed by nature spirits in the area. There is a perpetual conflict between the two factions, though neither can ever actually win. As such, the area shifts back and forth between its dilapidated state and pristine condition.
In gameplay, this area would be used mostly as a surreal one-off adventure. The spirits would coerce the party into acting one way or another to shift the balance towards order or chaos, which they would then have to choose. They could of course choose neither and destroy or ignore either or both sides. This poses a way to challenge the party cohesion, to either let nature run its course or allow the spirits to have their way with their home in life.

Location: Monument Valley

Shoot. So I realized yesterday that I completely forgot to update on Tuesday...and them promptly also forgot yesterday. I am kicking myself so hard, so I decided to get these posts up first thing in the morning. I do apologize for this. This post is more of a specific idea I had for an adventure revolving around this area, though it can be modified in any number of ways. I'm still experimenting with how exactly I want to make the posts here. Credit for the image to Reddit user Errorless Gnome.


                                                                     Description:
Three mountains rise from an otherwise flat plain, each having a gigantic altar carved into the top of it. The stone looks worn and ancient. The slopes are steep and treacherous, but you're not sure if these were ever meant for someone of your own size.

Associated Knowledges:
History:

• These monuments have been here since the earliest humans came to settle.
• You have heard that titans used to come here.
• Long ago, titans and giants would hold their moots in this valley.

Geography:

• These plains are massive and flat.
• Mountains are unusual around here.
• The "mountains" are artificial, not formed through natural means.

Info:
The mountains in Monument Valley were formed a long time ago by titans and giants. The altars are shrines to the ancient Titans, whom they revere as deities. The valley between the mountains was used to hold their moots. For the last several hundred years, these creatures have not been been there, as there have not been any moot-worthy events to happen. Humans have set up a small town between the mountains, in the center of the valley in the meantime, completely oblivious to the place's purpose.
The obvious intent here is that the Titans and giants all return suddenly and begin terrorizing the humans that are desecrating their sacred place. The reasons for their sudden moot can vary depending on what has happened in the campaign. Ideas I have so far:

• Celestial alignment. Titans and giants live for a long time, it could be several centuries before the stars are right.
• A great beast was slain. Perhaps even the party was involved.
• A new king must be chosen.

All of these can have different ramifications for the PCs, should they choose to intervene. However, they should all at some point have the party need to scale at least one of the great mountain-shrines. These are supposed to be fairly standard dungeon-crawl areas, only with a gentle crawl to the top rather than the bottom. This can be done either to appease the Titans of old during the moot (and thus make the giants like the PCs) or to further desecrate the holy ground to antagonize the giants away from attacking the town. 
Getting the giants to stop killing people should be the priority, and there are a number of ways to go about it.

• Confrontation. The PCs can attempt to slay all of the attackers, though this will be very difficult.
• Persuasion. The giants may be convinced that the townspeople should be allowed to simply leave, provided the PCs are capable of doing so.
• Appeasement. If the PCs help the giants perform their moot by ascending the shrines, the town may become an actual addition to the valley and, therefore, be sacred along with everything else.

Should the PCs choose to attack the giants, they'll soon see that they are heavily outmatched. Scaling the shrines would attract attention and, potentially, make the whole valley become desecrated by their actions. This could cause the giants to leave out of shame that they were unable to defend it, provided that the PCs choose to spin it that way. There are, as always, an infinite number of options and it is impossible to plan for them all.

Location: The Winter Castle

So I felt pretty uncreative about this name. I actually don't even really like what I've done with this in general, even though I did like the theme. Unfortunately, I forgot to copy the name of the person who posted this image to Reddit. This may be a post that I revisit in the future, since I'm unsatisfied with how I've done with it today.


Description:
The air is frigid and dry, and the sky is overcast. The castle lies on a thin spire across a deep chasm, connected to land only with a narrow, winding path. The stone is yellow and thick, and the snow slides off it easily.

Associated Knowledges:
History:

• This castle's origins are shrouded in mystery.
• The castle is rumored to be of fey origin.
• The castle is known to disappear and reappear as the seasons change.

Geography:

• There are very few castles this far north.
• The mountainous terrain around the castle seems out of place.
• Even this far north, the cold seems more intense than it should.

DM Info:
The Winter Castle is owned by winter fey. It is inherently tuned to the season of winter and the magical existence of cold. It appears in the mortal plane briefly during the winter, and disappears after about a fortnight. It is located very far to the north, such that few people live nearby it's appearance. The fey who live there make a habit of not interacting with mortals, and will torture anyone who passes by with their cruel games. The fey who live there are not all evil or all good. They exist on their own system of morality, that is alien to most mortals. Some of the fey can be benevolent towards mortals while others are vicious and brutal.
The entrance into the material plane is not through any conscious effort of their own, but just as a consequence of their own attunement to winter. They are very powerful spellcasters, and are attuned to frost magic. Magic that is performed near or within the castle can become unintentionally transformed into frost magic. There may be no actual effect to this beyond a contextual re-skin of spells. 
The castle does not only exist as winter. As each season changes, the castle cycles between each of them and appears in the appropriate location in the material plane. Not all of them might be known to mortals. The fey that live inside the castle also change along with the seasons, with their personalities and abilities changing along with them. The winter castle is the only one that mortals currently have even a passing knowledge of, and even that is fairly rare.
Adventures into the winter castle would most likely be a rescue mission of sorts, or an extermination. Either a hapless villager was captured by the fey, and is their current source of amusement, or magical creatures have been terrorizing the locals. It would be filled with environmental challenges from the icy structure, as well as dangerous combat encounters from the fey creatures. Most of the powerful fey would likely not even be aware that the PCs had entered. This is similar to the last post in the sense that it has the potential to either be a one-off adventure or it could open the door into a much larger story. Or even be a continuation of that story arc.

Location: The Creeping Forest

This is another theme of adventure that I particularly like. This has the potential to lead a party into a much larger story arc, or it could be left as an inconsequential side quest. Both options are completely possible, and each has their own merits based on whatever's already going on in the story. Credit for the picture to Reddit user Proteon.

                                                               Description:
What used to be a thriving forest stretches before you. The trees are withered and white, their empty branches grasping towards the sky. The ground is bare of life, and the air is dry. Deeper in, you can see remnants of trees, burned black and twisted.

Associated Knowledges:
Nature:

• Most natural life has left this forest.
• Parts of the forest have been burned completely. 
• No nature spirits still live here.

Arcana:

• There is a suspicious lack of magic in the area.
• The burned trees may have been burned magically.
• You can detect very small hints of necromancy around the area.

Geography:

• There are a lot of forests in this area.
• There is a distinct lack of settlements around this forest.
• You have seen some signs of people living here, but they are long gone.

DM Info:
The Creeping Forest was the site of a large forest fire that was started by a group of humans living in the area. They wanted to drive out the local population of centaurs, who were protected by the native treants. Their plan worked, and it destroyed the entire forest. The nature spirits who were harmed by this destruction cursed the entire area, making sure that nothing natural would ever live there again. They also reanimated the treants, but they are now burnt beyond recognition. The humans that lived here either starved to death or were killed by the unnatural guardians.
The forest still remains barren, and most of the spirits have left. The curse remains fully intact, and the treants still wander about, looking for more interlopers. The centaur have also left, and have become nomadic. The treants are different from how they were in life. They are slow because of their burned bodies, but have also become attuned to the fire that killed them. They are inherently evil and bear an undying hatred for any living who would come to their forest. 
Another group of fey don't believe that the forest should be kept barren. It was once a place of power for their people, even though it was damaged by the humans. They are unable to break the curse over the forest themselves, though they have begun a diplomatic conflict with the other spirits that cast the curse. The nature - pun fully intended - of the fey is that they do not take direct action against each other, but rather manipulate events and people to bring down their enemies. They are literally incapable of breaking the curse themselves, though they are fully capable of empowering others to do it for them. This faction is looking for outside help, such as a group of adventurers that could break the curse with the assistance of the fey. 
The goal of the Creeping Forest is to lead into a potential story arc involving a conflict between the groups of fey. It also has the potential to be little more than a one-off adventure, where the PCs go in and kill the evil fey, cleanse the forest, and move on. I personally like to have these types of adventures seeded throughout gameplay. If any one of five or six resonate with the party, then that is the thread of the story that they jump on and take to it's conclusion. The Creeping Forest could also lead to some minor allies and antagonists - if the PCs slight the evil fey by rupturing the curse, they might aid the PCs main enemies in the future. Or the fey that the PCs assisted might owe the party a favor, to be cashed in at the climax of another story arc.

Location: Jungle Palace

This one is very, very small. I feel like I do way too many posts about "Impending Doooooom" and "Evil Bad Destroy World Boom!" locations and characters. So I decided to do a basic template for an inconsequential adventure that would still fit inside the setting. This is another image that I forgot to copy the credit for. There were actually a lot of these that I found back in May. I remembered to start keeping track of those around June. Sorry.


Description:
The stone walls stand strong in the jungle. Plant life twines around the columns, but is unable to completely take over the structure. The windows hang dark, and the sounds of nature are all around.

Associated Knowledges:
History:

• Elves used to live here.
• The elves were driven out about a century ago.
• A cabal of druids were angered by the elves building this place, and drove them out to preserve the jungle.

Geography:

• No established kingdoms are anywhere near here.
• Some small tribes of elves sometimes pass through this jungle.
• The only permanent inhabitants are a cabal of druids.

DM Info:
The Jungle Palace was a structure built by a group of elves that tried to have a permanent foothold in the jungle. They were driven out by a group of angry druids, since the palace was an affront to the powers of nature. The palace is now uninhabited, and that group of elves have long since left. The druids keep a constant vigil around it, and have turned it into a monument to the evils of civilization. 
The elves left behind a considerable amount of their power in the palace, and were driven out before they could reclaim it. Magical enchantments were being cast over the palace, though few of them were finished. Works of elvish craftsmanship are strewn about, as the druids have no interest in such things. The powers of nature have not reclaimed the palace, as the druids now keep it as a constant reminder of the dangers of outsiders.
Wild animals do live within the palace, though they are few in number. The druids have put in place a number of animated plants and magical beasts outside of the palace to defend it, should anyone try to reclaim the place. If anyone were to attempt to enter the palace, they would bring the wrath of the druids down upon themselves. Animals, plants, and nature magic would be thrown at them. 
The intention here is to have a relatively minor quest to explore and loot the palace. Rumors of elven treasure, and minimal defenses would be sure to draw in a party of adventurers. The only real "twist" would be that the druids would meet the PCs only with violence. There wouldn't be too much of a follow-up plot or anything really complicated about it, except for fights involving lots of inconsequential minions.

Location: Eternal Shores

This is a smaller post for a relatively minor location. This is one that I feel is mostly a template, because there's a lot of room to alter the basic idea depending on the circumstances. As such, it's more of an example of how I envision planes working in my setting. Again, I forgot to copy down the contributor's name of this picture.

Description:
The stones of the shore feel loose beneath your feet, but you never seem to slip or fall. The columns of stone pile up into hills and lower into valleys, as far as you can see. You can taste the ocean in the air, and see very little vegetation growing between the stones. 

Associated Knowledges:
Planes:

• You are not in the Material plane.
• There are elements - pun fully intended - of earth and water here.
• You are trapped in a juncture between the elemental planes of Earth and Water, in a limbo of sorts.

Nature:

• The powers of nature run strongly here.
• You feel more attuned to Earth and Water.
• The strength of Earth and Water here may influence magic of other types.

DM Info:
The Eternal Shores are a bridge between the elemental planes of Earth and Water. It represents a limbo between the two. Space has no real meaning there, and it is effectively infinite in the three-dimensional plane. Stone forms an endless path, while saltwater extends infinitely out. The clouds in the sky are very distant, and are in a constant state of flux. The sun is in a permanent sunset at all times. Because this plane is not fully attuned to any one element, plant life of the Material plane is able to grow there, albeit barely. 
This demi-plane is commonly traversed by powerful elemental beings. Mostly they don't have any interaction with the pathway made of earth or the ocean, but pass through it in more of a spiritual way. Creatures of the Material Plane, however, are able to get stuck there, and most times die from lack of resources. The crossing between the two elemental planes gave way to many smaller creatures being formed out of pure energy. Earth and Water elementals wander aimlessly, unable to comprehend where they are. This demi-plane is as alien to them as it is to creatures of the Material plane. Odd combinations of Earth and Water also form here - from mud elementals to creatures made of Water with Earth floating in them, to giant krakens made purely of Earth that can command the ocean. 
Some beings use this demi-plane as a hiding place. Since nobody of any importance pays it any mind, many elemental beings outcast by their superiors take refuge in the infinite expanse of the Eternal Shores. They may use it as a permanent residence, carving out their own kingdom in limbo, or as a temporary layover as they plan their next home. This leads to many elaborate lairs of evil, good, or even neutral beings that have been expelled by the elemental lords, all trying to enact their own planes. Most are unaware of the others. 
This place is mostly going to be another RP challenge for PCs. The only way a mortal can get out is by bargaining with an elemental of sufficient power to take them away. That could lead to all sorts of sell-your-soul deals being made. The environment is dangerous enough between monsters and exposure that they'd be all but forced to make a deal with something. There's enough room for different elementals with completely different goals that there will be at least one lesser evil to choose from, and enough room to work in interesting combat encounters or puzzles. 

Location: Clockwork Library

Another picture that I forgot to copy the source of. I do apologize for that. The ideas for this area come from Wan Shi Tong's Library from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and a little bit from the Portal series. I like this area a lot because I can envision it being the sort of place that PCs could visit multiple times before it actually becomes a conflict. They come a few times for information, and then they need something restricted and have to fight through the defenses. I rather like that. Also, I'm trying to keep to more minimalist descriptions, since I feel like I'm too long-winded at times.


                                                             Description:
The halls are lit from the ceiling, and are brightly illuminated. Gears whizz all around, and steam blows out of various pipes to fuel the mechanisms. The floor tiles shift about like clockwork, and the different structures all hum and turn on their own rhythm.

Associated Knowledges:
History:

• This place is ancient, older than most established civilizations.
• The library has been open for the storage of knowledge for centuries.
• Different factions have used this place as a neutral meeting grounds.

Arcana:

• A faint magical aura permeates the library.
• Most of the mechanisms are not magical, but a few have a slight aura.
• Most of the magic is emanating from below the surface.

DM Info:
  The Clockwork Library has existed since before most human kingdoms. It was built by dwarven clans to be a repository of all their collective knowledge. Most of those clans have since gone extinct, and only one of them remains. They invented the clockwork structures within the library, and have guarded those secrets jealously. These dwarves were also the ones that invented firearms, though these are significantly less advanced. The library is still open to visitors, but they are restricted on what they can see, as the pact between the clans has become void with their extinction.
  The library is protected by clockwork golems and defense structures. These golems are more advanced than most others, and have some form of intelligence. The defensive structures have different abilities. There are turrets that fire at attackers, structures that will assemble more clockwork golems on the spot, and others that will warp the terrain against would-be attackers. The library itself is not sentient, but it does have a built-in sense of self preservation that the dwarves have programmed in. The day to day activities are handled by the library itself, but the dwarves can still control it directly if need be. 
  The library has a lot of knowledge that has been stored in it. Public access includes most common magical spells and incantations, and a number of rarer spells in certain sections. The library also contains detailed manuals on most species in Fomor, and has information on most of the major planes. The public can only access the information that could be found in other places. The library has it all in one spot, but most of it can be found by going to three or four major cities and looking hard enough. The restricted-access areas have much more detailed information on a wider variety of topics. Specific rituals to summon powerful demon lords, bargaining advice for elemental lords, passwords and taboo spells. The library has rooms dedicated to channeling powerful divination spells to obtain even more knowledge than would otherwise be possible. The secrets to advanced clockwork construction are also down there.
  The dwarves that inhabit the library are few in number, and ostensibly neutral to anyone else. They have lost their ancestral home to other clans, and now only hold onto the library. None dare trifle with them, as the advanced defenses of the library have turned back entire armies. They allow anyone in so long as they hold no intention to damage the library itself. The dwarves reserve the right to eject anyone or anything from their home, but they tend not to. Many have come from long distances to peruse the library, ranging from evil to good, lawful to chaotic. 
  The challenges here for the party should be mostly RP-based. They could come here in search of knowledge to help them on their quest, which can only be found in the restricted areas. That would require either diplomacy with the dwarves, or navigating through puzzles and traps and the formidable defenses of the library itself. Because the rooms can shift about and have any sort of dangers within, the possibilities are almost limitless. 

Location: Dripstone Cave

Taking a brief break from NPCs. Unfortunately I forgot to save the name of the Redditor that provided this image, so I do apologize for that. The inspiration for this post came from the picture, but also from Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It's pretty heavily altered from that, but The Shadow was the theme I was going for behind the goo. Also, someone pointed out that my previous font size was too small. So hopefully this is easier to read without being too obtrusive.


Description:
The cave seems fairly normal at first, twisting and turning, opening into large passages like most caves do. Deeper in, however, you see a strange fluorescent light that illuminates the cavern. You see a viscous liquid pooling on the floor, emanating an eerie yellow glow, and fills the rest of the cave. The stone is coated in a tough shell that reflects the light. The liquid bubbles slowly, and you can feel it writhing around your feet very slowly. It smells of rotted corpses, and the color shifts to every imaginable hue as you progress.

Associated Knowledges:
Arcana:

• The goo has a strong magical aura about it.
• You can detect that the goo is self-propagating.
• The magical trail leads to the depths of the cave, intensifying the deeper you go.

Nature:

• The cave itself is of natural origins.
• The goo is by no means natural.
• The cave itself is being irreparably altered by the goo.

DM Info:
  Dripstone Cave was, at one point, just an ordinary cave. Now, however, it has been filled with a mysterious goo that is slowly eating away at the stone, and turning it into something else. A planar rift formed in the depths of the cave when a demon attempted to enter the material plane, and now chaos is warping the cave into something from it's home plane. The goo is slowly creeping up towards the surface, but the process is very slow and difficult, as the demon failed to enter and is trapped in limbo between the two planes.
  The goo itself is not sentient, but it is capable of some level of thought. It has the overpowering urge to creep up towards the surface. The goo is eating the stone of the cave, but not in the way that most things "eat" their food. By consuming the stone, the goo becomes more grounded - pun fully intended - in the material plane. The essence of the material plane is shifted into the goo, and the stone is replaced with a replica from the demon's home dimension. The goo isn't necessarily aware of what is going on, as this is more of a reaction than an intention. The demon will be able to fully enter the material plane once it has established a domain that is akin to it's own home plane, which the goo is accomplishing.
  The creatures that lived in the cave have either died, or undergone mutations from the goo. Some of them were outright eaten, and their petrified remains resemble the stone that has been altered. Others were exposed to the ambient magic energy, and transformed into aberrations. Mostly they wander aimlessly, as they have no comprehension of what has happened. Some smaller monsters from the demon's home plane have also come through the bridge between them, and now inhabit Dripstone Cave.
  The environment inside the cave is inhospitable to life of the material plane. Toxic gas and dangerous energy radiates from the goo, and closer to the rift the magical energy is highly unstable. This requires magic or other methods to make it even possible to enter. The goo itself slowly tries to "eat" the PCs if they step into it, but the process takes so long that it should pose no direct danger. If they stand still or go to sleep in it, however, they could never wake up at all.
  The challenge to PCs adventuring here would not be direct combat. The creatures that live in Dripstone Cave are weak enough to slip through the cracks between the planes, or mindless animals that were altered.The environmental hazards are enough to challenge PCs. The goo has flooded some areas entirely, and the deeper they progress into the cave, the weirder things get. The stones start growing eyes, random chaotic traps appear, and dimensions make less and less sense as reality gets warped. At the end of the cave, the demon still hasn't fully formed yet, and the combat should be relatively easy.